Disc brakeshoe assemblies



.R- LEE DISC BRAKESHOE ASSEMBLIES 1 April 1,1969

Filed July 10. 1967 United States Patent 3,435,926 DISC BRAKESHOE ASSEMBLIES Ronald Lee, Tyseley, Birmingham, England, assignor to Girling Limited, Birmingham, England, a British company Filed July 10, 1967, Ser. No. 652,213 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 22, 1966, 33,183/66 Int. Cl. F16d 65/04, 69/00 US. Cl. 188-242 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to disc brake pad and shoe assemblies.

With conventional assemblies of this character, it is difficult to retain the pads on the shoes because of manufacturing tolerances and at the same time use a fastening device which is readily releasable and simple in construction.

In accordance with a feature of the present invention, there is provided a disc brakeshoe assembly comprising a shoe, a pad assembly and a keeper releasably secured to the shoe in a position engaging the pad assembly, the keeper having a resiliently deformable portion stressed to maintain the pad assembly in close engagement with the shoe.

With this arrangement, it is possible to ensure that the pad assembly is readily mounted on the sho in its proper relative position, and with all clearances (arising e.g. from manufacturing tolerances) taken up by virtue of the spring action of the keeper. If such clearances are present in a conventional assembly, they usually lead to excess Wear and eventual malfunctioning of the brake.

The invention makes use of a keeper of generally L- shaped cross-section, one limb being adapted for secure but releasable engagement with the brakeshoe, and the other limb having a tongue portion connected to the first limb by a resiliently deformable portion, the outer edge of the tongue being angled towards the first limb and engageable in use with the adjacent end edge of the pad assembly.

A constructional form of assembly and keeper in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of part of a disc brakeshoe assembly;

FIGURE 2 is a section showing the attachment of 'a pad assembly to the shoe; and

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line A-A of FIGURE 1.

In the disc brakeshoe assembly shown in the draw ings, a shoe 1 has releasably secured to it a pad backplate 2 carrying a brake pad 3. At one end, the shoe has secured to it a headed pin 4 engaged in a correspondingly shaped notch formed in the adjacent end edge of the backplate 2. This arrangement as so far described is conventional.

At the opposite end of the shoe, however, the pad assembly is releasably secured to the shoe by means of a novel spring keeper which is of generally L-shaped crosssection. One portion or limb 7 of the keeper is apertured to receive two fixing screws 8 by means of which the keeper is releasably secured to the shoe 1. The limb 7 is connected by a curved portion 9 to a second portion or limb 11 of the keeper, this limb being divided into two side flanges 12 and a central tongue 13 shaped to engage in a notch 14 in the adjacent end edge of the pad 3. The tongue 13 is inclined inwardly to the remainder of the second limb 11, so that its outer end edge is angled towards the first limb 7.

Upon assembly, the pad assembly is located with the shoe and the pin 4, and the spring keeper is then secured to the shoe by means of the fixing screws 8. As the screws are tightened, the angled end edge of the tongue 13 engages the edge of the notch 14 so that the tongue is forced back to stress the curved portion 9. In the fully assembled condition, the inter-action between the angled end edge of the tongue 13 and the cooperating portion of the'pad 3 ensures that the tongue presses the pad against the shoe 1 and also presses it. longitudinally to ensure proper engagement between the opposite end of the pad 3 and the pin 4. Additionally, the side flanges 12 oppose any tendency for the adjacent end of the pad to separate from the shoe.

According to a modification, the spring keeper may have two angled tongues corresponding to the tongue 13, one on either side of a central flange corresponding to the two flanges 12 in the illustrated embodiment. Additionally or alternatively, the flange portions 12 may be initially set at an angle of less than to the limb 7, so that the flanges are forced back on assembly and provide extra force acting to hold down the pad assembly. These and other variations will, of course, be possible within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. In a disc brakeshoe assembly, a shoe, a pin secured to one end of said shoe and having a head projecting from the surface of said shoe, a pad assembly having first and second opposed end portions, said first end portion having abutting engagement with said pin beneath the head thereof, a keeper having a substantially L-shaped cross-section including a first limb, a second limb engaging said second end portion of said pad assembly and including a resiliently deformable portion connecting said first and second limbs, and releasable securing means securing said first limb to said shoe, said keeper being constructed and arranged to be stressed by said securing means to cause said deformable portion and said second limb to bear on said pad assembly to hold the same against the surface of said shoe and in engagement with said pin.

2. The brakeshoe assembly of claim 1, wherein said second limb includes a tongue having an outer end edge angled towards said first limb engaging said second end portion to apply to said pad assembly a thrust having components perpendicular to said surface and said pin, respectively.

3. The brakeshoe assembly of claim 2, wherein said second limb further includes flange means alongside said tongue and engaging over said pad assembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,027,823 1/ 1936 Hoffman 188-242 X 2,504,668 4/1950 Eksergian 188-244 2,609,895 9/1952 Hodgson 188-234 2,684,133 7/1954 Chester 188-244 3,171,516 3/1965 Parton 188-250 GEORGE E. A. HALVOSA, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

